Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, presented the paper “Psychopathological Trajectories of Chinese College Students over Past Decade” at the 2023 annual conference of the National Council on Family Relations, held in Orlando, Florida, November 8–11.

Jason Knight, associate professor of political science, public administration, and planning, was an invited panelist at the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women's Racial Equity and DEI Roundtable Discussion Series, held November 1 in the Penfold Gallery of the Buffalo History Museum. The event focused on the role of housing in (re)shaping our community, with a focus on equity and justice. Dr. Knight was joined on the panel by other regional experts in real estate, development, and the nonprofit community. His work continues to support the actual practice of social justice by supporting local governments, neighborhood organizations, nonprofits, and other stakeholders in addressing the systemic inequality embedded in our local housing, land use, and neighborhood reinvestment systems.

Thomas J. Reigstad, professor emeritus of English, received the Owen B. Augspurger Award at the 2023 Red Jacket Awards ceremony, held on November 10 at the Buffalo History Museum. The Augspurger Award, established in 1974, is presented to an individual for outstanding service to the cause of local history. Dr. Reigstad was also honored by proclamations from New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and New York State Senators Timothy M. Kennedy and Sean M. Ryan.

Sourav Biswas, assistant professor of chemistry, delivered an invited seminar, "Merging Nanoscience and Green Chemistry: Towards Sustainable Catalysis," at the Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Research Seminar Series at the Rochester Institute of Technology on October 5. Dr. Biswas highlighted the contributions of more than 10 Buffalo State students who worked on different projects over the last two years. Dr. Biswas also acknowledged the Buffalo State SUNY LSAMP program and the Center for Integrated Studies in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.

Joelle Leclaire, professor of economics and finance, was a panel organizer and invited presenter at the Cape Ann Investor Summit, a private equity investment event held in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on October 24. The panel was titled "Interest Rates and the Economy."

Marko Miletich, assistant professor in the Modern and Classical Languages Department, has edited a new book, Transfiction: Characters in Search of Translation Studies (Vernon Press, 2024). Chapter authors are Irem Ayan, the University of British Columbia; Caragh Barry, the University of California, Santa Barbara; Marella Feltrin-Morris, Ithaca College; Sheela Mahadevan, King’s College London; Marko Miletich, SUNY Buffalo State University; and Yan Wu, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, presented a talk on Social Reference Theory at the 28th International Conference of the Association of Chinese Professors of Social Sciences, held in collaboration with Pacific Lutheran University, in Tacoma, Washington, October 20–22.

Zhang Jie, SUNY Distinguished Professor of sociology and director of Buffalo State’s Center for China Studies, was an invited speaker at the International Summit on Suicide Research, held in Barcelona, Spain, October 15–18. The summit was sponsored by the International Academy of Suicide Research and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Zhang was part of the symposium Suicide Prevention across the Lifespan on October 16.

Gehan Senthinathan, assistant professor in the Social and Psychological Foundations of Education and Adult Education Department, is this year’s recipient of the Barbara Frey Award in Education. The award recognizes extraordinary faculty leadership that benefits the students of Buffalo State, above and beyond the leadership exhibited in the classroom. Barbara Frey served Buffalo State as a professor of curriculum and instruction, acting director of the education division during her tenure, vice president for academic affairs, and acting president. She was also a teacher at the Campus School from 1946 to 1952. Dr. Senthinathan came to our attention as he was completing his Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, where he had already been recognized for excellence in teaching with the 2019 Wilfrid Laurier University Teaching Award. Dr. Senthinathan’s unique expertise in the field of psychology enriches our courses in educational psychology, developmental psychology, and research courses. This award recognizes his extraordinary accomplishments in teaching teacher education majors and for his outstanding results with the diverse student clientele enrolled in Psychology 101. The School of Education is honored to count this outstanding teacher among our faculty.

Jason Knight, associate professor of political science, public administration, and planning; and coauthors Russell Weaver, director of research at Cornell University’s Buffalo ILR Co-Lab; Heather Abraham, associate professor in the University at Buffalo’s School of Law; and Christopher Holtkamp, assistant professor of conservation and environmental planning at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, coauthored three papers as a mini-special edition (PDF, 80 KB) of the journal Middle States Geographer. 

Drs. Knight, Weaver, and Holtkamp prepared the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)–required “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in Erie County, NY” for HUD recipients in Erie County; the City of Buffalo; and the towns of Amherst, Hamburg, and Tonawanda. This report on regional barriers to fair housing, along with Professor Abraham's legal efforts on fair housing and civil rights, informed three papers that addressed HUD's requirements that recipients prepare an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. The papers are “Persistent Impediments and the Geography of ‘Affirmatively Furthering’ Fair Housing: The Case of Erie County, New York ” (PDF, 350 KB); “Regionalization and Access to Fair Housing in Erie County, NY” (PDF, 260 KB); and “On Fragmentation, Boundary Problems, and Movement toward a Regional Fair Housing Regime in Erie County, NY” (PDF, 490 KB).

Dr. Knight continues to undertake the action of social justice through practice and research that engages directly with local organizations to reshape public policy.